Here it comes, chapter 14!
Title: A Glass of Milk in the Night
Characters: Kurt Hummel, Noah Puckerman, Finn Hudson, Burt and Carole Hummel, Azimio Adams, Mrs. Puckerman, and Coach Bieste.
Rating: PG-13 I think for this chapter
Gen/ slash
Warning: Swearing, minor injury
Main Pairing: Kurt/Puck
Word Count: 2,101 (long one, I know!)
Summary: Kurt is surprised in the middle of the night, and gets to see a side of Puck that most don't.
Also, let it be said that this is kind of AU. Some things from cannon can be seen, but most of this is from my head and doesn't follow the stuff that's happened at the end of season two at all.
Kurt hated football camp, and at times, hated his boyfriend for going. He felt like Noah had chosen to be away from him, and it hurt. He was gone for two and a half weeks before school started, and they hardly even got to talk while he was away. Whenever Noah would call, he’d be so tired from training that after a few minutes they’d say goodbye so he could go to sleep. Kurt dragged Mercedes shopping for new school clothes every chance he got to keep himself distracted.
Noah, at camp, was truly not enjoying it much either. Not only did he miss Kurt, but the only guys who would really spend any time with him were the glee kids. On the field he had to work three times harder than ever before- to prove he was still “badass” and could play; to fight off the extra harsh tackles and attacks from the guys on the other side of the scrimmage; and to make up for the guys on his side who were conveniently letting him get plowed by the other side. He was exhausted and just wanted to go home. To Kurt and Burt and Carole. But he refused to let the assholes on his team win, so he stuck it out.
On the last day of camp before they headed home, they split teams and were playing against each other. Puck was just glad it was almost time to go home. He loved football, but he just wanted to see Kurt again. He ran and blocked and played hard. When he caught a ball thrown to him by Finn, he took off running for the end zone. He didn’t see Azimio coming at him from the side until it was too late. He crashed into him, hard, hitting him in the side with an elbow and knocking him to the ground so hard, Puck actually blacked out for a few minutes.
When he opened his eyes, Finn was kneeling next to him and Coach Bieste was on the other side, asking, “Puckerman, are you alright?”
“Mmm,” he hummed in an attempt to confirm that, “Head hurts though.”
Finn leaned down, putting an arm around his shoulders to help him sit up. As he moved, though, Noah gasped, feeling the most intense pain he could ever remember and grunting out, “Fuck!”
Bieste took a look at him, put an arm around him on the other side, and together with Finn started walking him towards the medic’s office. Over her shoulder, she yelled, “Shower up boys. Adams, don’t go too far!”
Finn stayed with him while the medic checked him over, Bieste waiting outside. “Well, I’ve got some bad news, and some worse news,” the medic finally stated, helping Noah put his shirt back on. “Bad news is, you’ve definitely got a concussion. Worse news is you’ve probably got a broken rib. Gonna have to head to the hospital for x-rays to make sure it’s not gonna damage anything else. Those things can puncture a lung or heart or something else, though I think it’s safe to say none of that happened to you on the field. Still, it’s good to get a look at it and see how everything’s going in there.”
They went outside, the medic relaying the message to Bieste who headed off to the locker room to “talk to” Azimio. They had their assistant, a college-aged kid who helped out at camp, drive the two boys to the hospital.
In the waiting room, they gave Puck the forms to fill out, and as Finn called his Mom, Burt, and Kurt to tell them what had happened, Noah realized he’d have to call his mom to get permission to be treated, or whatever. Sighing, he took out his cell phone. She answered after four rings. “Ma? It’s Noah.”
“Noah? Are you coming home?”
He could hear her close to tears and wasn’t sure if she was still drinking, or sober. Either one could put her in an emotional state. “No, Ma. I got hurt at football camp, and I’m gonna need you to give ‘em the okay to fix me up at the hospital, kay?”
“I’ll be right there!”
“Ma, no… just, you can tell them over the phone. Don’t come down here. I swear, I’m fine.”
“Alright, Noah. But you call me as soon as you’re out of there to let me know you’re okay. Got it?”
“Sure, Ma.”
She talked to the woman in reception and Noah finished filling out the paperwork, then waited his turn to be seen. As they were waiting and Noah was trying to sit comfortably, Kurt rushed in the entrance, followed by Burt and Carole. Noah groaned, “What are you doing here?”
“What am I doing here? You have Finn call me to say that you’re hurt, and you didn’t think I’d be here as fast as humanly possible? Shit Noah, for all I knew you could’ve been dead!”
“’M not dead, obviously.”
“Yes, I see that. But you didn’t call me yourself, and really, like I’m going to trust that Finn’s information is all correct? I don’t think so!”
“Baby, my head fucking hurts, so can you tone it down a bit, please?”
“I’m sorry. What happened?”
At this point, Burt and Carole were both hovering too, so he looked at all of them and simply stated, “Azimio Adams happened.”
“What did he do?”
Finn spoke up then, “He came outta nowhere, tackled him from the side and hit him hard. Like, on purpose, you know? Not just a tackle, but like, going for him.”
“He hit my ribs, probably broke one or two, and smashed my head so hard into the ground medic says I have a concussion.”
“You can bet I’ll be talking to your coach,” Burt stated, clearly pissed.
Noah laughed just a little, “I don’t think you’ll need to. When she got the run down from the medic she took off to lay into him, bigtime.”
“Noah Puckerman?” a nurse poked her head out.
He stood, and when Kurt looked up at him, held out a hand to the smaller boy, silently telling him to come with. Kurt smiled at him and took the hand, both boys following the nurse to a curtained off room. She took his vitals and asked what happened. He gave her the rundown of a bad football tackle and she nodded, telling him a doctor would be with him in a minute.
“I’m glad you’re okay, Noah. I was so worried.”
Kurt was biting his lip and Noah reached out, pulling it away from his teeth. “I’m fine, babe. Worst part was having to call my mom.”
“What?”
“Had to. Still a minor. She was fine though- except the crying. But that’s really nothing new.”
“I love you Noah.” Kurt leaned into him and kissed him softly. “I missed you so much.”
“Excuse me,” the doctor stated from the doorway, “I hate to interrupt, but-”
She said it with a smile on her face and Kurt blushed. “Sorry. Go ahead.” He went back to his seat.
She examined Noah, agreeing with the medic, then sent him to get x-rays. After, he was back in an exam room waiting for the results. The doctor came in again and smiled, “Well, it’s definitely two broken ribs. Fractured, but not too bad, considering. Both are clear of any internal organs or anything, so as long as you don’t do any additional damage, you’re all clear to just let them heal up. Unfortunately, you’re going to have about a six week healing period, so no football until then.”
“Six weeks?” Noah almost roared.
The doctor looked startled for a moment before agreeing, “Yes, six weeks. If you play before they’re healed, you could be looking at a punctured lung or spleen, though, which would require surgery and a very long recuperation. So, I’ll give you a prescription for some pain medication, and you can be on your way. Here’s the write-up on the concussion, too.”
She gave him a few papers and they headed out to the waiting room. “So?” Carole asked, seeing the boys.
“Concussion and two broken ribs. Nothing major,” Noah tried to shrug but had to stop because it hurt.
“Well, honey, you come home with us tonight, and we’ll get your stuff when we pick up Finn tomorrow, okay?”
“Actually, I’d rather go back to camp tonight, if that’s alright.”
“What?” gasped Kurt.
Burt asked, “Why do you want to go back?”
“If I don’t go back, that’s saying Z got me. I can’t let him. I’ll go back tonight, eat dinner in the caf with them, go to bed, have breakfast, and then go home as planned. He’s not gonna win this one.”
“Alright,” Burt nodded his approval, respecting what the young man was saying, “Let’s at least go get your prescription filled so you can get some sleep tonight.”
Kurt sat in the back seat with Noah when they brought the boys back to camp. Before Noah could get out, Kurt kissed him deeply, uncaring that his father, Carole and Finn could all see. “Be careful, okay? I love you.”
“Love you too. Don’t worry. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
With that, he was out of the car, followed by Finn who said, “See you,” as he walked off. Kurt closed his eyes and tried to hold back his tears through the ride home.
He didn’t go with his parents to pick the boys up the next day. Instead, he chose to go to the shop to work for his father. Some of the other guys were there too, so he mingled, asked them about their wives and children, and did some simple tasks that came in. He was fully capable of taking an engine apart and putting it back together, but the guys really enjoyed doing those sort of things, so he changed oil, changed tires, and answered the phones.
They were getting ready to close up when a woman strode through the door, already yelling, “Where is he? Where’s my son?”
“Excuse me, ma’am, can I help you?” Kurt asked, trying to stay calm in the face of some nut job.
“Yes, you can get me my son!” she raged in his face, “It took forever to figure out where the hell Finn and his mother had disappeared to, but I know she married this Hummel guy, so you must know where Noah is!”
Thankfully, Leo heard the racket and came up front then, “Ma’am, I’m sorry, but we don’t know any Noah here. I’m sorry, but if your son is lost, you should probably file a report with the police. We’d be happy to call them down here for you, if you’d like.”
“You are full of shit! You let him know I want him to come home,” she deflated a bit then, sinking in on herself, “I want him home.”
Leo made soothing noises and led her out the entrance again, locking the door behind him when he came back in. “Well Jesus H. Christ if that lady isn’t crazier than a loon!”
Kurt let out a shaky breath, “Yeah. Thanks Leo. How’d you know she wasn’t going to take you up on the offer to file like, a missing person’s report or something?”
“Boy, she’s drunk as a skunk. No way she’s gonna wanta talk to the cops.”
They closed up and left to go to their cars together, glad that Mrs. Puckerman wasn’t around anymore. Kurt drove home in silence, letting himself into the house and heading to his bathroom to get cleaned up. He went to his bedroom to grab clean clothes and was startled to find Noah sitting on his bed. “You didn’t come to pick us up,” he stated without looking up.
“I didn’t think it was necessary,” Kurt said simply, grabbing clothes from his closet.
“Are you mad at me?”
“Why would I be mad at you?”
Noah sighed, “I don’t know. But I thought you’d be excited for me to come home.”
“Well, I apologize for disappointing you then. But you seemed to be doing just fine without me being at camp, so I don’t know why you’re upset you didn’t see me today. You’ll be seeing plenty of me, after all we do live together.”
He headed out the door, but Noah grabbed his arm, “Kurt, what the fuck? Yesterday you said you love me, and today you won’t even look at me.”
“Well, maybe I changed my mind,” Kurt declared, pulling out of the jock’s grip.
Am I evil or what? What is going on?
Don't worry, I'm already partway through the next chapter. I won't leave you guys hanging TOO long on this one. :)
Characters: Kurt Hummel, Noah Puckerman, Finn Hudson, Burt and Carole Hummel, Azimio Adams, Mrs. Puckerman, and Coach Bieste.
Rating: PG-13 I think for this chapter
Gen/ slash
Warning: Swearing, minor injury
Main Pairing: Kurt/Puck
Word Count: 2,101 (long one, I know!)
Summary: Kurt is surprised in the middle of the night, and gets to see a side of Puck that most don't.
Also, let it be said that this is kind of AU. Some things from cannon can be seen, but most of this is from my head and doesn't follow the stuff that's happened at the end of season two at all.
Kurt hated football camp, and at times, hated his boyfriend for going. He felt like Noah had chosen to be away from him, and it hurt. He was gone for two and a half weeks before school started, and they hardly even got to talk while he was away. Whenever Noah would call, he’d be so tired from training that after a few minutes they’d say goodbye so he could go to sleep. Kurt dragged Mercedes shopping for new school clothes every chance he got to keep himself distracted.
Noah, at camp, was truly not enjoying it much either. Not only did he miss Kurt, but the only guys who would really spend any time with him were the glee kids. On the field he had to work three times harder than ever before- to prove he was still “badass” and could play; to fight off the extra harsh tackles and attacks from the guys on the other side of the scrimmage; and to make up for the guys on his side who were conveniently letting him get plowed by the other side. He was exhausted and just wanted to go home. To Kurt and Burt and Carole. But he refused to let the assholes on his team win, so he stuck it out.
On the last day of camp before they headed home, they split teams and were playing against each other. Puck was just glad it was almost time to go home. He loved football, but he just wanted to see Kurt again. He ran and blocked and played hard. When he caught a ball thrown to him by Finn, he took off running for the end zone. He didn’t see Azimio coming at him from the side until it was too late. He crashed into him, hard, hitting him in the side with an elbow and knocking him to the ground so hard, Puck actually blacked out for a few minutes.
When he opened his eyes, Finn was kneeling next to him and Coach Bieste was on the other side, asking, “Puckerman, are you alright?”
“Mmm,” he hummed in an attempt to confirm that, “Head hurts though.”
Finn leaned down, putting an arm around his shoulders to help him sit up. As he moved, though, Noah gasped, feeling the most intense pain he could ever remember and grunting out, “Fuck!”
Bieste took a look at him, put an arm around him on the other side, and together with Finn started walking him towards the medic’s office. Over her shoulder, she yelled, “Shower up boys. Adams, don’t go too far!”
Finn stayed with him while the medic checked him over, Bieste waiting outside. “Well, I’ve got some bad news, and some worse news,” the medic finally stated, helping Noah put his shirt back on. “Bad news is, you’ve definitely got a concussion. Worse news is you’ve probably got a broken rib. Gonna have to head to the hospital for x-rays to make sure it’s not gonna damage anything else. Those things can puncture a lung or heart or something else, though I think it’s safe to say none of that happened to you on the field. Still, it’s good to get a look at it and see how everything’s going in there.”
They went outside, the medic relaying the message to Bieste who headed off to the locker room to “talk to” Azimio. They had their assistant, a college-aged kid who helped out at camp, drive the two boys to the hospital.
In the waiting room, they gave Puck the forms to fill out, and as Finn called his Mom, Burt, and Kurt to tell them what had happened, Noah realized he’d have to call his mom to get permission to be treated, or whatever. Sighing, he took out his cell phone. She answered after four rings. “Ma? It’s Noah.”
“Noah? Are you coming home?”
He could hear her close to tears and wasn’t sure if she was still drinking, or sober. Either one could put her in an emotional state. “No, Ma. I got hurt at football camp, and I’m gonna need you to give ‘em the okay to fix me up at the hospital, kay?”
“I’ll be right there!”
“Ma, no… just, you can tell them over the phone. Don’t come down here. I swear, I’m fine.”
“Alright, Noah. But you call me as soon as you’re out of there to let me know you’re okay. Got it?”
“Sure, Ma.”
She talked to the woman in reception and Noah finished filling out the paperwork, then waited his turn to be seen. As they were waiting and Noah was trying to sit comfortably, Kurt rushed in the entrance, followed by Burt and Carole. Noah groaned, “What are you doing here?”
“What am I doing here? You have Finn call me to say that you’re hurt, and you didn’t think I’d be here as fast as humanly possible? Shit Noah, for all I knew you could’ve been dead!”
“’M not dead, obviously.”
“Yes, I see that. But you didn’t call me yourself, and really, like I’m going to trust that Finn’s information is all correct? I don’t think so!”
“Baby, my head fucking hurts, so can you tone it down a bit, please?”
“I’m sorry. What happened?”
At this point, Burt and Carole were both hovering too, so he looked at all of them and simply stated, “Azimio Adams happened.”
“What did he do?”
Finn spoke up then, “He came outta nowhere, tackled him from the side and hit him hard. Like, on purpose, you know? Not just a tackle, but like, going for him.”
“He hit my ribs, probably broke one or two, and smashed my head so hard into the ground medic says I have a concussion.”
“You can bet I’ll be talking to your coach,” Burt stated, clearly pissed.
Noah laughed just a little, “I don’t think you’ll need to. When she got the run down from the medic she took off to lay into him, bigtime.”
“Noah Puckerman?” a nurse poked her head out.
He stood, and when Kurt looked up at him, held out a hand to the smaller boy, silently telling him to come with. Kurt smiled at him and took the hand, both boys following the nurse to a curtained off room. She took his vitals and asked what happened. He gave her the rundown of a bad football tackle and she nodded, telling him a doctor would be with him in a minute.
“I’m glad you’re okay, Noah. I was so worried.”
Kurt was biting his lip and Noah reached out, pulling it away from his teeth. “I’m fine, babe. Worst part was having to call my mom.”
“What?”
“Had to. Still a minor. She was fine though- except the crying. But that’s really nothing new.”
“I love you Noah.” Kurt leaned into him and kissed him softly. “I missed you so much.”
“Excuse me,” the doctor stated from the doorway, “I hate to interrupt, but-”
She said it with a smile on her face and Kurt blushed. “Sorry. Go ahead.” He went back to his seat.
She examined Noah, agreeing with the medic, then sent him to get x-rays. After, he was back in an exam room waiting for the results. The doctor came in again and smiled, “Well, it’s definitely two broken ribs. Fractured, but not too bad, considering. Both are clear of any internal organs or anything, so as long as you don’t do any additional damage, you’re all clear to just let them heal up. Unfortunately, you’re going to have about a six week healing period, so no football until then.”
“Six weeks?” Noah almost roared.
The doctor looked startled for a moment before agreeing, “Yes, six weeks. If you play before they’re healed, you could be looking at a punctured lung or spleen, though, which would require surgery and a very long recuperation. So, I’ll give you a prescription for some pain medication, and you can be on your way. Here’s the write-up on the concussion, too.”
She gave him a few papers and they headed out to the waiting room. “So?” Carole asked, seeing the boys.
“Concussion and two broken ribs. Nothing major,” Noah tried to shrug but had to stop because it hurt.
“Well, honey, you come home with us tonight, and we’ll get your stuff when we pick up Finn tomorrow, okay?”
“Actually, I’d rather go back to camp tonight, if that’s alright.”
“What?” gasped Kurt.
Burt asked, “Why do you want to go back?”
“If I don’t go back, that’s saying Z got me. I can’t let him. I’ll go back tonight, eat dinner in the caf with them, go to bed, have breakfast, and then go home as planned. He’s not gonna win this one.”
“Alright,” Burt nodded his approval, respecting what the young man was saying, “Let’s at least go get your prescription filled so you can get some sleep tonight.”
Kurt sat in the back seat with Noah when they brought the boys back to camp. Before Noah could get out, Kurt kissed him deeply, uncaring that his father, Carole and Finn could all see. “Be careful, okay? I love you.”
“Love you too. Don’t worry. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
With that, he was out of the car, followed by Finn who said, “See you,” as he walked off. Kurt closed his eyes and tried to hold back his tears through the ride home.
He didn’t go with his parents to pick the boys up the next day. Instead, he chose to go to the shop to work for his father. Some of the other guys were there too, so he mingled, asked them about their wives and children, and did some simple tasks that came in. He was fully capable of taking an engine apart and putting it back together, but the guys really enjoyed doing those sort of things, so he changed oil, changed tires, and answered the phones.
They were getting ready to close up when a woman strode through the door, already yelling, “Where is he? Where’s my son?”
“Excuse me, ma’am, can I help you?” Kurt asked, trying to stay calm in the face of some nut job.
“Yes, you can get me my son!” she raged in his face, “It took forever to figure out where the hell Finn and his mother had disappeared to, but I know she married this Hummel guy, so you must know where Noah is!”
Thankfully, Leo heard the racket and came up front then, “Ma’am, I’m sorry, but we don’t know any Noah here. I’m sorry, but if your son is lost, you should probably file a report with the police. We’d be happy to call them down here for you, if you’d like.”
“You are full of shit! You let him know I want him to come home,” she deflated a bit then, sinking in on herself, “I want him home.”
Leo made soothing noises and led her out the entrance again, locking the door behind him when he came back in. “Well Jesus H. Christ if that lady isn’t crazier than a loon!”
Kurt let out a shaky breath, “Yeah. Thanks Leo. How’d you know she wasn’t going to take you up on the offer to file like, a missing person’s report or something?”
“Boy, she’s drunk as a skunk. No way she’s gonna wanta talk to the cops.”
They closed up and left to go to their cars together, glad that Mrs. Puckerman wasn’t around anymore. Kurt drove home in silence, letting himself into the house and heading to his bathroom to get cleaned up. He went to his bedroom to grab clean clothes and was startled to find Noah sitting on his bed. “You didn’t come to pick us up,” he stated without looking up.
“I didn’t think it was necessary,” Kurt said simply, grabbing clothes from his closet.
“Are you mad at me?”
“Why would I be mad at you?”
Noah sighed, “I don’t know. But I thought you’d be excited for me to come home.”
“Well, I apologize for disappointing you then. But you seemed to be doing just fine without me being at camp, so I don’t know why you’re upset you didn’t see me today. You’ll be seeing plenty of me, after all we do live together.”
He headed out the door, but Noah grabbed his arm, “Kurt, what the fuck? Yesterday you said you love me, and today you won’t even look at me.”
“Well, maybe I changed my mind,” Kurt declared, pulling out of the jock’s grip.
Am I evil or what? What is going on?
Don't worry, I'm already partway through the next chapter. I won't leave you guys hanging TOO long on this one. :)